Motherkind

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Have you ever thought, “I just don’t have the capacity anymore”? Maybe you used to be the friend who was always available, and now you feel guilty that you can’t show up in the same way.
In this Motherkind Moment, Zoe is joined by therapist, bestselling author and boundaries expert Nedra Glover Tawwab. Nedra shares how becoming a mother made her boundaries clearer almost overnight. With less time and energy, the things she used to tolerate or make excuses for simply no longer fit.
Together, they explore how to explain to the people you love that your availability has changed, and what to do when someone finds that hard to hear. Nedra also opens up about finding her way back to friendships now that her children are older, including the courage it takes to reach out after years of drifting apart.
If you’re missing a friend, struggling to keep up with the people you love, or wondering how to say “I care about you, but I can’t give what I used to,” this conversation offers a gentle and practical way forward.
💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:
Why becoming a mother can change what you’re willing to tolerate

How to be honest with friends about your new capacity without ending the friendship

What to do when someone doesn’t understand your boundary

Simple ways to stay connected when you have less time, from voice notes to shorter catch-ups

How to let people know you’re ready to be invited again

Why reconnecting after losing touch is often easier than you think

A thought to take with you: friendships move through seasons, too. Losing touch doesn’t have to mean losing the friendship, and most people will be happy to hear from you.
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If you enjoyed this episode, you can listen to the full episode: Nedra Glover Tawwab: Why Mothers Feel So Resentful (And The Boundaries That Change Everything)
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Connect with Zoe:
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Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 21-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 17th November 2026. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes discussion of anorexia, postnatal depression and a traumatic birth experience.
What happens when you build a life that looks right on the outside, but leaves no room for who you really are?
Bestselling poet and mother of two Donna Ashworth joins Zoe for an honest, reassuring conversation about perfectionism, late-diagnosed autism and finding the courage to change your life.
Before becoming a bestselling writer, Donna ran a children’s soft play centre with her husband. She tried to be the perfect mother, wife, and friend while privately struggling. Writing became a way to express what she had been hiding, and eventually opened up a completely different future.
Donna shares how her son’s autism diagnosis prompted her family to rethink their lives, why her own diagnosis brought both grief and understanding, and what happened when she stopped trying to appear as though she had everything together.
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why trying to be the perfect mother can leave you feeling disconnected from yourself.

How to take a first step towards change without waiting to feel confident.

How Donna’s late autism diagnosis helped her understand experiences she had spent years blaming herself for.

Why her family shifted their focus from achievement to calm, safety and acceptance.

How Donna approaches her inner critic and makes more space for self-compassion.

Why asking for help can create the connection you’ve been missing.

Together, Donna and Zoe explore the pressure to get motherhood right, the exhaustion of masking, and why courage often arrives after you take the first step.
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, questioning your next chapter or wondering where you’ve gone in the middle of everyone else’s needs, this conversation offers a reminder: you’re allowed to build a life that feels better for you, too.
A thought to take with you:
You don’t have to feel brave before you begin. Donna’s experience is that courage grows as you take each step, with fear alongside you and support from the people around you.
Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s conversation with Anna Mathur: Accepting Uncomfortable Truths - how to live life more fully
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Key Topics:
Motherhood identity • Perfectionism • Late-diagnosed autism • Neurodivergent motherhood • Parenting an autistic child • Masking • Self-acceptance • Mum guilt • Postnatal depression • Overthinking • Inner critic • Finding courage • Letting go of control • Asking for help • Career change after motherhood • Trusting your intuition • Redefining success • Creativity and writing • Finding yourself again • Donna Ashworth

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 21-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 17th November 2026. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.
What if putting yourself first could change how you feel about everyone around you?
In this Motherkind Moment, Zoe is joined by Dr Mindy Pelz, a women’s health educator, chiropractor and New York Times bestselling author of Fast Like a Girl. Known for her work on women’s health, hormones and menopause, Mindy shares a deeply personal lesson about caring for herself.
After years of putting family and then work first, she finally began prioritising herself at 55. The biggest change? Letting go of resentment.
Together, they explore what our children learn from watching us constantly doing, rushing and putting our own needs last. Mindy offers a different way to think about self-care: as something we can model for our children, helping them see that their needs deserve space too.
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Mindy connects putting herself first with feeling less resentful.

Why our everyday habits can teach our children more than our words.

A simple question to ask when prioritising yourself feels difficult.

A reminder that caring for yourself is something your children can learn from, too.
Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you can listen to the full episode: 2026 health reset: Dr Mindy Pelz on burning fat, clearing brain fog, balancing moods and getting your energy back
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 21-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 17th November 2026. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.
Trigger Warning: This episode includes a personal discussion of bereavement and the sudden death of a sibling.
How do you start believing in yourself? What if you have no idea what you want to do next? And what does returning to work look like when you’re grieving?
This week, I’m doing something a little different and answering your questions. It’s an honest, personal episode covering everything from why I stopped eating refined sugar to the small promises that have helped me build trust in myself.
I share five exercises to help you find clarity around your next career move, especially if you’re staring at a blank page wondering where to begin. We explore what gives you energy, what jealousy might be telling you and why your ideal working day matters just as much as a job title.
Finally, I answer the hardest question: how I’m navigating life and work following the sudden death of my younger brother. I share why returning to something I love has felt like a sanctuary, how I’m allowing the grief to come in waves, and what caring for myself looks like right now.
💡 In this episode, I share:
Why I gave up refined sugar and my personal experience of the change.

How keeping small promises to yourself can build confidence.

Why courage comes before feeling ready.

Five practical exercises to help you figure out your next career move.

How someone else’s success can become evidence of what’s possible for you.

My experience of grief, finding support and returning to work.

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy this episode: How to build true confidence (and then teach it to your children)
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor: Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 21-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 17th November 2026. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.
When you’re caring for a newborn, who’s making sure you’re being cared for too?
In this Motherkind Moment, nutrition researcher and author Dr Federica Amati joins Zoe to explore why looking after ourselves can feel so difficult after birth, just when our bodies need support the most.
Drawing on her own experience of becoming a mother, Federica shares why knowing what to do isn’t always enough, and how practical help can make all the difference. From a freezer full of meals to setting boundaries with visitors, this is a reassuring reminder that your recovery matters too.
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why your nutritional needs increase when you’re breastfeeding

Preparing easy, nourishing food for those early weeks

Why caring for mothers takes more than information alone

Asking for the help you actually need and setting boundaries with visitors

Reframing postpartum as a time for healing and recovery

Whether you’re preparing for a baby, in the thick of those early weeks or supporting someone who is, this conversation offers a kinder way to think about life after birth.
Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s conversation with Federica Amati: Birth Is The Equivalent of 10 Marathons, And It's Why You're Still Tired (Even Years Later)
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Key topics: Postpartum nutrition • Breastfeeding • Recovery after birth • Maternal wellbeing • Nourishing meals • Support for new mothers • Asking for help • Postpartum boundaries